First load shedding, now fuel increase, PF is ruthless-ADD

Just a fortnight ago the Zambian people were greeted with the sad news of massive load shedding by our national power utility company ZESCO. The load shedding has already impacted the lives of the Zambian people negatively. Many Zambians have seen serious suffering at the hands of the PF government despite campaigning and winning an on a pro-poor platform in the 2011 elections.

As if this is not enough, just yesterday the ERB announced the increase in fuel with a big margin of over k1 for both petrol and diesel respectively. This came after some of the small business houses especially those in the informal sector have resorted to buying power generators as a substitute to the unavailable ZESCO power. These business houses will now have no choice but to either cut down on production or increase on the price of whatever is being produced, the situation that may result in job losses and high cost of living. The bigger effect will be felt by the ordinary Zambians that have to depend on public transport to get to work.

We shall soon see an increase in the cost of public transport and other goods due to this increase in fuel. Further, the informal sector will dealing in metal fabrication, internet cafes etc……. Many Zambians are already finding it very difficult to live a decent life due to the hardships being forced upon them by the PF government which does not seem to show genuine concern for the people that put them in power.

It is very unfortunate that the PF government has cleverly refused to take responsibility and fix the problems our economy is facing. It is without doubt that our economy has reached a record worst performance in a long time with the kwacha trading at an alarming level and continuing to drop in value, high unemployment and a high cost of living. Unfortunately the PF government has continued passing the burden by coming up with measures that increase the cost of living instead of fixing the problem.people by increasing the cost of living instead of fixing the problems. They have shown no concern in trying to work out a solution to what is affecting our country.

Our party is very concerned with the POOR GOVERNANCE by the PF government that will soon result in even more suffering for the Zambian people.
In finding a solution to these problems, we propose that within seven (7) days, the PF call for a consultative meeting with ALL the relevant stakeholders including opposition political parties to discuss the way forward before the economy of this country totally collapses. The PF’s failure to consult would lead to more problems for this country which is not good for the ordinary people that put politicians in office to lead them. Our position as ADD is that the PF should forget about flonting the power in the manner that they are doing and genuinely look at the lives of the Zambian people and involve everyone that may have a solution to the load shedding, poor performance of our currency, the continued increase in fuel prices and high unemployment.

We hope that the PF government will not rush out with attacks on us but that they will find our proposal as a means by which solutions to these may be found.
Charles Milupi
ADD President